SOME INFO ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE SONG:

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The Wind that Shakes the Barley was written by the Irish poet Robert Dwyer Joyce (1830-1883) and published in 1861 in a collection of his poetry, entitled Ballads, Romances, and Songs. It was inspired by the Irish Rebellion of 1798, known as Éirí Amach 1798 in the Irish language and The Hurries in Ulster Scots. The uprising was launched by an underground, secular Republican movement called the Society of United Irishmen, referred to in the poem as simply “United men”. The group was exceptional because both Protestant and Roman Catholics were affiliated. Although their insurrection was short-lived, it proved to be one of the most significant uprisings against British rule in Ireland, hastening the abolition of the Irish Parliament and instigation of the Act of Union in 1800. This legislation resulted in direct rule from London which was still in place when the poem was penned in 1861.

The poem is written in the voice of a young man who is preparing to sacrifice his relationship with the young woman he loves, to volunteer for the Irish forces. The grievances of the Irish rebels included issues of political, economic, and religious discrimination. The rebellion was influenced to some extent by the ideals and recent successes of the American and French revolutions. (4)

The references to barley in the poem are related to the common practice by the rebels of carrying barley or oats in their pockets to serve as food on the march. Following the rebellion, fields of barley grew over the sites of mass unmarked graves of slain rebels. For this reason, the new growth of barley every spring came to symbolize the regenerative and unyielding nature of Irish resistance to British rule over Ireland. (5)

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